Harry sorts out the past
by slytherinsal
Summary: because the horcrux in Harry's head wasn't dealt with when he was a child, and was killed by a rather brute force method after much trauma, Harry Potter is an adult who will not live to see his 30th birthday. Reviewing all the stupid mistakes made by the adults around him, he returns in time to sort out his younger self's life, by setting in train a number of actions.


_**A/N: this is my first serious attempt at a time travelling fic. Be nice please.**_

 **Chapter 1**

" _Dear Professor Snape,_

 _I am enacting the last wishes of Lily Evans Potter in writing to you. As her solicitor I have been instructed to contact you if her son should end up in hospital as a result of the actions of his godfather acting in a puerile manner, or his aunt and uncle. My client was concerned that a Professor Dumbledore might act unprofessionally if anything should have happened to my client, her husband, and the Longbottoms, whom I understand are named in her will as guardians. I fail to see what business it would be of this Dumbledore, but my client was agitated and said 'Just tell Sev not to trust him, he means well, but he destroys lives for 'the greater good'.'_

 _The boy should have been in hospital before, as he has had numerous broken bones, malnutrition and impaired sight due to being denied ophthalmic care. However Mr. and Mrs. Dursley appear to have intimidated or fooled the authorities up until this time when Harry was shut out of the house in the snow with inadequate clothing._

 _The boy has given me reason to believe, as he spoke in delirium, that he lives in the cupboard under the stairs. Considering the general state of his health I do not find this hard to believe. I am not sure why he is even still alive._

 _I am instructed to ask you not to let him have anything to do with one Peter Pettigrew, who may have been trusted to be a secret keeper [I am not sure what that means but Mrs. Potter was adamant that you would understand] but whom Mrs. Potter dislikes. She is happy for him to have contact with one Remus Lupin, and to continue contact in a controlled way with Sirius Black 'so long as he is cognisant of any foolish actions leading to his godson's injury.' This condition obviously does not apply as it is the fault of the Dursleys, but may I say any godfather worth his salt would fight to care for his godson rather than leaving him to be abused. You must make up your own mind on that matter._

 _May I say I am most concerned about the wound on Harry's forehead, which appears to be an old wound that does not heal. I think you may need to seek specialist help over that._

 _I have the necessary papers of adoption for you to sign if you are prepared to take on your best friend's son as your own. Please contact me soonest._

 _Albert Square, Solicitor."_

Harry Potter read through the letter he had typed with two fingers and signed it with the fictitious name he had taken for his foray into his own past. It was a gamble. It was a big gamble. But Snape had loved his mother, and he could not be a crueller guardian than the Dursleys for his 7-year-old self. The jibes were no worse than anything Dursley had come out with, and at least his younger self would not be likely to be beaten, or Harry-hunted by Dudley and his friends. And he should be better prepared to face Voldemort. There would be paperwork for Snape, including a letter about horcruxes. It had taken Harry a lot of time to enchant a quickquotes pen to write in his mother's handwriting, but using a muggle font-developing program had helped no end. This time perhaps fewer people would die.

And this time, his other self might live past the age of thirty, unhampered by the brain tumour caused by the presence of the horcrux in his head.

Harry sealed the envelope, and dropped the letter for Spinner's End into a letter box.

oOoOo

Severus Snape read the letter three times.

Surely this had to be wrong? The Potter brat was being treated like a prince by his adoring relatives, Dumbledore had twinkled at him and denied that this was likely ...

Lily had not trusted Dumbledore, and Severus was beginning to find that the old man's demands for his redemption were likely to prove onerous. He had been almost sick with gratitude at first, but a continual demand for gratitude was a form of slavery.

He wrote to the solicitor, suggesting a time of an appointment, and asking for the complete medical records of Harry Potter. Damn muggles, they were a nuisance to deal with, but apparently Lily had not trusted anyone in the magical world. How sad was that! He would care for the brat, who must be about seven, but the boy had better not expect any treats.

oOoOo

Severus did not recognise the solicitor. Indeed, most of Harry's friends would not have recognised him. Magical medicine had failed him, and chemotherapy had left him bald and emaciated, looking older than his twenty-six years.

"I ... I would like to see anything you have that was written by Lily Evans Potter," Severus demanded, hungrily.

"Indeed, I have a letter for you from her," said Harry. "I also have a medical report on Harry, and a social worker's report. As his solicitor I have informed the authorities and I imagine that the matter will go to trial. The child has been induced to explain that his sin for which he was sent outside in a thin shirt and shorts in the snow was to bleed into the dinner he was cooking."

"Good grief, what was he thinking of, interfering in cooking dinner at his age?" What an arrogant brat to think he could do better than his aunt, thought Severus.

"This is what he was asked, and he answered in some surprise that he was supposed to cook all the meals for the family, like he was supposed to keep the house clean, the garden neat, and the car washed," said Harry. Younger Harry had been gently urged to speak up as his older counterpart would never have done by a light compulsion to tell the social workers everything. "He was busy apologising for causing trouble because he didn't notice that his cousin was going to kick him in the butt, else he might not have cut himself if he hadn't been startled. There aren't many square inches of his body free from bruises, not heavy bruising, but as they are in a number of different states of healing, apparently an ongoing low level of physical violence, in addition to malnutrition."

"Doesn't like his own cooking?" Severus was shocked, and resorted to sneering to cover it.

"Isn't allowed to eat it unless there are leftovers," said Harry. "And as his uncle is a whale and his cousin almost a whale, that isn't every day."

Severus paled. His father had beaten him often and hard, but he had never deliberately starved him. There were times when he and his mother went without, when all the housekeeping had been taken and spent on beer, but that was his father's alcoholism, not a deliberate act of cruelty. And it had been hard enough accepting that, when a hungry little boy ate dandelion leaves from the crevices in the pavement for something to fill his growling stomach.

"So, let me get this straight; Harry Potter is made to work like a house ... like a slave, is slapped about regularly, not fed properly and is made to sleep in a cupboard and does not have medical aid sought for him?" he asked. Surely this could not be so! Dumbledore would never ...

Dumbledore would, too. A cowed child would be an easier tool to mould.

"That's about the size of it, Professor," said Harry. "Add to that the lies told to the school, that he is incorrigibly lazy and a congenital liar and thief, which the social worker got from the principal, who believes the lies as he plays golf with Dursley. He is beaten if he performs better than his cousin in class. Several teachers have tried to report something amiss, and had their beliefs pooh-poohed. One took him to the school nurse, who reported injuries to social services, who visited. Unfortunately they gave advance notice, and found the child in bed surrounded by comics and were too gormless to notice how bewildered he was, or how he kept saying 'I'm so happy with my aunt and uncle, I am, I am.' Which is moderately classic if you know anything about abused children. He was then off school for two weeks and came back even quieter."

"The desire to keep quiet for self-preservation and to pretend to one's self that one is no freak," said Severus, quietly.

"Ah, I did not realise you were an abused child yourself," said Harry, who was genuinely shocked.

"My father was ... difficult," admitted Severus.

Harry nodded. He would have described Vernon in those terms had he not learned to speak out.

"Freak is what the Dursleys call the boy, and it took him some time to find out he had another name when he began school. I think that Harry was only forthcoming because the strength of the painkillers and other medicines he has been on have lowered his resistance and made his mind freewheel somewhat," he said.

"More than likely," said Severus. That explained one of the things which had surprised him. He would never have admitted to anything being wrong when he was seven; but muggle drugs had more side effects than a good potion.

He signed the various documents Harry had arranged for him; he would need to file adoption in the magical world as well and that would be difficult, as Dumbledore would hound him.

And then there was a sealed letter with 'to Sev' on it.

He broke it open eagerly.

" _Dear Sev,_

 _I know you are still my truest friend, and I am sorry that I doubted you. You will have to get rid of the dark mark, however, to be free of Dumblemort [if I may coin a shorthand method of referring to two masters. Dumbledore may be well meaning but please do not assume he will not use anyone like a disposable glove and not bother about the consequences to them.]_

 _I suggest you seek out a parselmouth. As James is descended from the Peverell family there is a significant chance that Harry is a parselmouth, and will be able, when older, to perform parselmagic for you if you do not find another. I have heard him hissing at grass snakes in the garden, which is not conclusive but it is suggestive. India reveres parselmouths._

 _I have set up a bank account for your use to care for Harry and for yourself if you are taking him into your care. Also when you go to Gringotts with the key herein, they will give you the deeds to a small dwelling owned by the Potters, which is cared for by a house elf named Winky. You will have to bond her as she refuses freedom, she is already bonded to the Potter line. The house is unplottable and is unknown to Albus. Keep it that way. Your account is in the name of Titus Truekettle, and has documentation for that name if you wish to assume a new identity. The goblins do not gossip about the true identities of their customers. Being an Unspeakable has its uses! I set up the account and new identity originally to offer you an escape from Voldemort if you wanted one, but then things got hectic. If you are reading this, then my worst nightmares are true and Peter has betrayed us, and somehow managed to kill Sirius, who is a prat but at least he loves Harry. I can't think what I was thinking of letting a rat be our secret keeper instead of a faithful hound._

 _You will have to seek out horcruxes to help Harry to fulfil that bloody prophecy. Voldemort's real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, last descendent of the Gaunts, and the son of a muggle from Little Hangleton. I expect Dumbledore will try to do it all himself rather than using any of his ministry resources to find out more. However, there's a good chance Mouldy Shorts gave some to his most loyal followers, and you may have to use your mark to get close to people like Bella Lestrange. I pray that when you read this you are able to protect Harry from Voldemort if he is ruling from the ministry. I have to hope that he is still being thwarted in his plans._

 _The prophecy is as follows:_

' _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._ '

 _Make of that as you will. How he would mark my baby I do not know._

 _Love my son, Severus, as you would have done if things had not gone wrong between us, if he had been our son._

 _Your dear friend,_

 _Lily Evans Potter."_

Severus was working on not crying, and Harry felt quite uncomfortable. He had learned how to manipulate, and how to press all the right buttons, from two master manipulators, Dumbeldore and Voldemort.

But he had a duty to the shattered wizarding world to try to put things right.

And Winky had her chance to put things right as well. She had agreed to accompany him to the past, being heartbroken to have lost Dobby, and her own plans included putting some backbone into her former self. To be bonded to the Potter family and to have a purpose in life suited her down to the ground, and Harry had not told Hermione that he now had a bonded elf.

She would not have approved.

Later 'Albert Hall' would arrange for the Grangers to meet Snape and little Harry. Hermione would have a much greater future if she was cognisant with wizarding etiquette when she started school, as of course would Harry himself. Dumbledore was an idiot, and an arrogant idiot at that, however well meaning he might be.

 **Chapter 2**

"Uncle Sevvie!" the too-small little figure in the big bed tried to sit up. It was plainly a struggle.

"You know me?" Severus was confused.

"I 'member pictures, and Mummy..." said Harry. "But just flashes ..."

The pictures of Lily were older Harry's gift to his former self, and pictures of her showing him photos of Severus with her, with the intention of giving the child a sense of trust, and hopefully melting the potions master's heart.

Older Harry had learned his lessons in manipulation well.

Severus had to stop himself from shaking with joy and grief combined that Lily had taught her son to call him 'Uncle'. And the boy didn't look a bit like James.

He looked more like an escapee from Belsen.

"We'll get you out of here soon," he said. "When you are well. You'll go home with me, you will never go back to those people."

Little Harry shot him a grin which made him look so much like Lily the first time they had met, and snuggled down to sleep.

Severus went to take care of the paperwork of the hospital.

oOoOo

Harry grimaced.

He had shot himself in the foot, or as the wizarding world put it, put a stinging hex into his own foot.

If he had only pretended to be a squib, he could have fed information to Snape.

He needed to enchant another quill, and copy out everything he knew.

oOoOo

Severus looked around the 'small property' which was now his to use in perpetuity. Compared to Spinner's End it was huge, but it was nothing on the scale of the mansions of the great families. A nice home for a little boy to grow up, it had five bedrooms, an attic laid out as a playroom, with a clockwork train which closely resembled the Hogwarts Express, and a huge amount of track and scenery, a big box of muggle building toys called LEGO and some action figures. The master bedroom looked comfortable, and was decorated in silver grey, navy and touches of green. A small bedroom was covered with quidditch posters and was decorated in a soft green with contrast touches of red, gold, blue, bronze, and light yellow on a bright patchwork quilt. Severus was surprised, no influencing the boy towards any particular house.

Winky was just about bouncing up and down with excitement, and Severus had performed the bonding oath with her, cutting his thumb to bond to a cut on her thumb. She led him round every guest bedroom, all tasteful but a little sterile, and round all the rooms downstairs. Here there was a library which anyone might envy, and a note in Lily's hand which read, ' _there are more books in our vault in Gringott's; Harry's guardian will be able to access them. There's a notice-me not spell on them which can be dispelled with the password 'mischief managed' which should fool any ill-intentioned marauder, since it's usually the password to close things. Take Harry and be recognised as his guardian as soon as possible, the goblins are a force to be reckoned with. They may be able to put you in touch with a parselmouth. Don't let Harry try to steal their dragon.'_

Steal their dragon? Gringotts had a dragon? Was Harry likely to do so?

It was the sort of thing James ...

Severus had a sudden memory of Lily, reaching no higher than the breastbone of the man she was shouting at, demanding that he stop beating his dog. If Gringotts had a dragon, the poor thing would never fly free. Lily would not like that. So did she mean she wanted him to find a way to free it?

That would have to take secondary consideration to finding horcruxes.

He let Winky drag him out of the library and down to the extremely well-stocked potions laboratory in the basement. There was a stair up into the garden, built in what had once no doubt been a coal chute, and the garden was large and child-friendly, with a swing in the big tree at the end, a treehouse and a slide down from the treehouse as well as a sturdy ladder. Severus had no idea how hard older Harry had laboured to make an idyllic childhood setting that he would wished for himself, but Severus certainly appreciated how much he would have loved to live in such a home. And his needs were catered for with a large herbarium and a greenhouse. It was perfect.

"I hope I live up to your hopes, Lily," Severus whispered.

The owl swooped down to him and offered her leg.

Severus accepted the letter, and frowned as he recognised the sprawling handwriting as that of James Potter.

He opened it.

" _Dear Snape,_

 _If you are reading this, I'm dead and you are at Prongslet's Nest as I nicknamed the place. Feel free to call it what you like, I warded it to detect your first arrival, and for the place to withdraw good will if you ever lay a hand on my son outside of normal judicial spankings. Let's just say I've not had the good experiences of you that Lily has._

 _I've been collecting information on horcruxes or horcruces and I've put it all in a box in the vault. You can collect it from there._

 _Please try to get on with Sirius, even if he has been stupid. I think he needs to grow up but he is a loyal friend if you and he can be adult enough to put it aside. I know that he did not mean you to die or be badly harmed that night; but we tended to genuinely forget how dangerous Moony could be. I know Moony feels very badly about it, as Sirius was stupid enough to tell him. We both gave him hell, even if Dumbledore didn't. However, I have reason to suppose that Sirius' crazy house elf, who was loyal to Regulus, might know something about one of the horcruxes._

 _I think there are five or six of them. I believe he intended six, but may not have completed them all. Any familiar he has may be one._

 _Be careful; they are likely to be trapped._

 _James Potter."_

Harry had been particularly pleased with this letter. It was very different in tone to when he wrote as his mother, and held a note of sneering condescension which was also rather sweet to throw at Snape, however much of a hero he might be. It would still need a level of heroism to collect all the horcruxes, but if Snape managed to do it with the aid of the notes, then this younger self of his would never have to go through all that he had done. There would doubtless be Quirrelmort to contend with, but if Snape could deal with the diary, there would be no basilisk, and with Winky on the job, there would be none of the farce of the Triwizard. Severus had enough prodding to get Sirius out of Azkaban.

There would still be the travesty that was the ministry, and Umbridge, and the bumbling incompetence of a headmaster too obsessed by the 'greater good' to see how much pain and suffering that caused. However, it was not Harry's intention to remove those impediments. Without a driving need to alert people that Voldemort returned after the Triwizard, Little Harry would not even be on the radar of the ministry.

Harry gave a rueful smile.

All the muggle terms he took for granted would probably be unknown to his younger self. Well, better that way round than be totally ignorant of the world in which he found himself.

oOoOo

Amelia Bones regarded Severus Snape with dislike. She suspected him of being a death eater but Dumbledore protected him.

"I'm here about a possible miscarriage of justice," said Snape.

"Which deatheater did you have in mind?" asked Amelia.

"I got a letter written by Lily, left with a muggle lawyer," said Snape. "And she wrote that their secret keeper wasn't Sirius Black, it was Peter Pettigrew."

"That would give a reason for Black to have killed Pettigrew," said Bones. "I'll have a look for the transcript of his trial, and see what I can find. In such mitigating circumstances that killing might be able to be overlooked, as well as it being plain that he did not murder the Potters, though the muggles who were caught up in his pursuit of Peter and killed cannot be overlooked."

"Well, that's his problem," said Severus. "I don't much care if he rots in Azkaban, but he was Lily's friend and Harry's godfather, and I owe it to her and to Harry to do what I can. Lily asked me to take Harry if anything happened to the Longbottoms and Sirius, and I've got the adoption forms here. And here's a copy of the muggle report on the abuse he's been under at the place Dumbledore put him. I don't even know why Dumbledore made a decision to put him there; I'm sure Lily would never have left her sister as guardian in her will, Petunia hated magic and bullied Lily because of it."

"It's nothing to do with Dumbledore. I'll look into it," said Amelia. "You can bring Harry over to play with my niece, Susan; like him, she lost her parents to deatheaters." She gave him a filthy look.

Severus got out his wand.

"I swear on my magic I have not murdered anyone or taken part in the so-called Dark Revels," he said. The glow surrounded him. It was true; Voldemort had been so keen to have a potions master he had waived the usual initiations. Severus had seen some of the Dark Revels and had been revolted, but had tried to pretend that such things would cease when order was restored, when those of traditional families were ascendant again and when he had the recognition he deserved. He had soon been disillusioned about how much recognition he would truly have; the only recognition the Dark Lord gave was the cruciatus curse.

Amelia was amazed.

"I apologise, Severus, I thought you were a death eater."

Severus hesitated.

"I took the mark, stupidly," he said. "I was seventeen and ... and it was a fit of madness. I am looking into ways to have it removed, to break the connection."

Amelia sat back.

"You didn't have to tell me that," she said, quietly.

"You are probably the only honest member of the ministry," said Severus, bitterly. "I have to deal honestly with you, or why should I expect you to deal honestly with me? Here's Lily's letter." He passed it over. "And James also wrote that he had information in his vault."

The letter supposedly from Lily now had a few tell-tale wrinkled circles where he had cried over it.

Amelia read it through carefully. Lily Evans Potter appeared to have grown up somewhat from the rather silly girl she remembered who had set her sights on the richest boy in her year and who had run away until she had caught him.

"What are these horcruxes?" she asked.

"I haven't been able to find much about them," Severus admitted, "But I have a vague recollection of seeing a reference to them once in the Hogwarts library. A deliberate act of murder splits the soul, and with a ritual, that soul fragment may be stored in an object as a host. If the body of the person with a horcrux dies, he can lurk in the other fragment until he can possess or have manufactured a new body. I don't know what the ritual is, but I doubt either of us really wants to know. I'm more squeamish than I realised before I started associating with that madman and his fanatics."

"Well, that's another convincer that you're against him; I've heard deatheaters claiming the Imperius curse to regret his utter evil, and almost gloating about it, but to dismiss him as a madman rather sounds like the ring of truth."

"I was on the rebound from rejection by Lily, all right? She had objected to my friends. In Slytherin House you hang on to what allies you can, it's a nasty place. And I only stuck to my guns because I was sneered at by Potter and Black on the train in my first year. I will be urging Harry to go anywhere but Slytherin."

"I don't think it was always like that. It was the rise of Voldemort that started it becoming worse, I believe," said Amelia. "Very well, Severus, I will do what I can to help you in this quest, you can bring Harry to play with Susan, though I have fewer fears now that I will have to be inspecting him for abuse."

"I would never abuse Lily's son," said Severus.

Amelia nodded, and he left.

oOoOo

Several hours later, Amelia was angry and frustrated.

"If there's no transcript of the trial, then there must be a time it was scheduled," she said to Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Not that I can find, ma'am," said Scrimgeour. "I think Crouch sent him directly to jail."

"Do not pass go, do not collect 200 Galleons," murmured the half-blood secretary, who was au fait with muggle board games.

"What was that, Stevens?" asked Amelia.

"Nothing germane, ma'am," said Stevens, hastily. "If he was arraigned without trial, then shall I schedule one and have him brought from Azkaban?"

"Yes, do that," said Amelia. "Do not house him in a hotel in Mayfair however. And never assume I don't know anything about muggles."

"Yes, ma'am and no, ma'am," said a chastened Stevens.

 **Chapter 3**

Sirius Black sat in a holding cell in the Ministry, wondering who loved him enough to manage to cut through the red tape to put him there. He had been questioned under veritaserum, and Amelia Bones was seeking a full exoneration. She had also put out an alert for the detention of Peter Pettigrew, with the information that he was a rat animagus, now missing a toe. Sketches had been made from a pensieve memory Sirius had given and posters would be going up all over the place.

Sirius looked up when the door opened, and stared as a head appeared.

"James? You survived?"

"I'm not James." The rest of the body appeared as older Harry took off the cloak. "I'm from the future, Padfoot, and I need you to listen, and take some advice, or ..." he broke down in tears. "Powers, I miss you, you died when I was sixteen."

"I did? And you've come back to save me?"

"I've come back to save a lot of people who meant a lot to me, Padfoot, and you're one of them. In my past you didn't get out of Azkaban until I was 13, when you broke out, and you never were exonerated. I think it went against one of Dumbledore's plans 'for the greater good'. Let me tell you why Voldemort is still alive, and tell you how to help fix things. You won't have care of small Harry, you aren't stable enough, and as you've skipped six years of Dementers, I hope you're stable enough to realise it."

"I would do my best."

"I know; but you are better doing your best as a crazy, adorable uncle," said Harry. "I need you to shut up and listen now, and to be open minded about something you may think crazy, but believe me, it works."

He spoke about horcruxes, and how he had arranged for Severus to be his younger self's guardian.

"I trust you that he really is on our side, but really? Snivellus?" said Sirius.

"You pushed him to be the way he is; and if you can act as an adult, apologise for the werewolf incident, and work with him, you will help your godson to have a happy childhood without abuse and without having to fight Voldemort in some form every bloody year at Hogwarts."

"Snape abused you?"

"My uncle and aunt abused me, and have been abusing Harry," said Harry. "I went back to a time when I had pneumonia and was found wandering and hospitalised. In my timeline, my aunt passed it off as sleepwalking. In this timeline, I ratted them up to the authorities and put a compulsion in the doctors to x-ray for broken bones badly healed, check for anaemia and blood sugars, and I put a light compulsion in Harry to tell the truth. Now listen; Harry is a horcrux, and Dumbledore did nothing about it. Snape may need your help to get it removed, the Black library in Grimmauld place may have a book on removing such curses. Dumbledore's plan for me was to be hit by the killing curse to destroy it, sit down." Padfoot had leaped to his feet in agitation. "It worked, but have you any idea the strain that puts a teenage kid under? And because it wasn't removed properly, only killed with brute force, I am now dying of cancer. I want to stop that. I am aware that, at some point, I will just cease to exist, as soon as my future becomes impossible, but that's fine. The other me will be happy and will have a childhood, and be able to have relationships with people because he will know what love is, and what happiness is. Dumbledore stole that from me, to make me the perfect obedient dutiful tool."

"I'm going to kill him," growled Sirius. "Does Snape know?"

"About me coming back? No. I've been leaving him supposedly posthumous letters from mum and dad," said Harry.

"Now that's a true Marauder; pranking Snivellus into doing you good," said Sirius, much restored in humour.

"And other thing," said Harry. "You told me once that the measure of a man was how he treats his underlings, and in the other time, you failed to live up to that by being mean to Kreacher."

"That snivelling little ..."

"Kreacher was given the task of destroying a horcrux by Regulus, but he did not know how," said Harry. "You will have to help him."

"Regulus turned?"

"He did. Like Snape, he realised what a loony Voldemort was, and he cared more for Kreacher than he did for his pure blood views. Be nice to the poor little sod."

"Very well. I will do my best. And be nice to Sn ... Severus. Because of little Harry. And kill horcruxes. I think I got all that. Anything else?"

"Try to get control of the bank vaults of Bellatrix. One of them may be in there. One is in Hogwarts, and one will need two people to prevent one from being seduced by the curse on it."

"I see why you need both of us. Can I involve Remus?"

"Not until you've apologised to Snape. And by the way, he picked up the clues and came to the DMLE to get you sprung. It wasn't me, he picked up the hint."

"I owe him, then. Very well, I don't like it, but I can do whatever I have to for you. For other you, hell, that's confusing."

"I know, I'm sorry. I wrote as James that you'd forgotten how dangerous a werewolf was; I don't think you really meant a classmate to die, however much you hated him. I never got a straight answer from you about it."

"I didn't mean him to die. I suppose some thought was that if he was a werewolf too, he'd be rendered harmless because he wouldn't be able to run with his pure blood friends, and we might be able to heap coals on his head by being kind to him or something. But it wasn't as coherent as that."

"I suggest you just stick to having forgotten how dangerous a werewolf is," said Harry, dryly.

"Okay. And ... I am grateful to him for getting me out."

"Well, you have one thing in common. That was your stupid moment. His was in taking the mark."

"He has to have done some dark things though."

"No. When he died he left me his memories. He didn't participate because Voldemort was too keen to have his skills to care much. I know he is a hero, and did his best to keep me safe, despite his feelings for my father. I know he loved my mother. And I know he was regretting taking the mark before he went to Dumbledore. Like you, he was a teenager when he had his stupid moment."

"I guess that puts it more into perspective. He died in your time?"

"Yes, and he died to make sure I was in the right place at the right time to kill Voldemort."

"Will I see you again"?

"I don't know, Sirius. I will try, but I cannot guarantee it. Just support Snape and make sure Dumbledore doesn't get the Dursleys out of prison just to make sure of Harry having the so-called protection of some dubious blood-wards. I hate to sound like Moody, but constant vigilance is better than complacently relying on wards which might, or might not have any validity."

"Okay. I love you, Harry."

"I love you, Sirius," said Harry. "Give me a hug."

The two men embraced.

oOoOo

When Dumbledore noticed that the wards had fallen, he mustered a selection of members of the Order of the Phoenix to go and look.

Number 4 Privet Drive had an abandoned look; there were no lights on in the windows.

"They've probably gone on holiday," muttered Albus. "Dear me, I should have warned them that long holidays would be detrimental to the wards."

"What if they've moved?" asked Minerva.

"Why ... that would be disastrous, we'll never find them to put the wards up again," said Dumbledore. "I should have put a trace on Harry."

"If we cannae find them, doesnae that mean that nor can the Death Eaters?" asked Minerva.

"They have ways of finding things out, using ministry resources," said Dumbledore.

"It's no' as if we don't have our own ministry resources," objected Minerva. "Why don't we break in and look for a clue?"

Dumbledore hesitated briefly before agreeing, and the two teachers and Kingsley Shacklebolt proceeded to search the building.

"Albus," said Minerva, "When did you last check on Harry?"

"Why, er, there was no need to check on him; he should be safe enough here," said Dumbledore.

"Then why is there evidence of only one small – though the word is hardly descriptive – boy, the son of the house? There are two bedrooms with toys in, but only one has a bed, and the other appears to be overspill clutter from the Dursley boy's bedroom. I cannae see any suggestion that Harry has ever lived here, there are no photographs of him and no belongings."

"Dear me, Minerva, that is very strange," said Dumbledore. "I cannot explain it."

"I can," said Minerva, dryly. "Wizard hating muggles find a wizarding child left on their doorstep like so much rubbish, and take him to their aurors or to an orphanage, wanting nothing more to do with him."

"But the wards ..."

"How do you know the wards were not self sustaining without Harry's presence? They were experimental wards, were they no'?" asked Minerva.

"Well, yes, but I was perfectly certain how they should work," groused Dumbledore.

"You were perfectly certain how adding a ward against dark books would work, at Hogwarts," said Minerva, with deliberate cruelty. "I believe Irma still calls it 'apocalypse day' from a' the dark books in the library already rising up and marching in protest."

"Yes, well, I made a small error of judgement," said Dumbledore, crossly.

"And in my opeenion, ye made mair than a sma' error in leaving the puir wee laddie here in the first place," Minerva became more Scots. "And syne ye cannae exclude darrrk buiks wi'oot the havers which happened, forbye ye cannae set up blood wards either."

"We shall have to devote the efforts of the Order in finding Harry," said Dumbledore.

It did not occur to him for one moment to ask the neighbours; being only muggle, they would never be able to answer complex questions about where the Dursleys had gone. And Arabella Figg would surely have told him if she had known.

Arabella Figg was keeping quiet. In her opinion, a muggle orphanage would be a warmer place for that poor child than with Petunia and her outsize family, as social services were finally involved. Albus had always treated her entreaties with contempt; and that made him, in her eyes, contemptible.

oOoOo

Little Harry was eating ice cream in Florean Fortescue's shop, after a visit to Gringott's bank, where he was recognised as the sole member of the Potter family, and his guardian attested as the only accredited person permitted to use the accounts on behalf of his ward.

"Is anyone else named already?" asked Severus.

"Yes, Professor Snape, Professor Dumbledore owns the other key and has made withdrawals," said Griphook, the goblin in charge of the Potter account.

Severus frowned.

"Can this key and his be declared void, and a new one made, keyed to Harry?" he asked.

"A wizard with sense? Yes it can," said Griphook.

"Good. Please do it. And please make it so that I can only access the account with a duplicate key held by yourself, or his godfather, Sirius Black," said Severus. "I have no desire to have accusations of peculation levelled at me."

"Very wise," Griphook showed his sharp teeth. "I'll see to an account key with limited access for you, and copies for myself and Mr. Black. I hear he's innocent."

"Yes, and he will be free soon," said Severus. "An inexcusable act to send a man to jail without a trial." Amelia Bones was keeping him updated. "Now, I am told you might be able to recommend a parselmouth curse-breaker, and also I need a thoroughly competent curse breaker to look at Harry's scar. I don't like the way it will not heal, since it was made by Voldemort when the boy was a baby."

Little Harry tugged his robe.

"Uncle Sev, Aunt Petunia said it was in a car crash, when my parents were killed," he said.

"Your parents died fighting a ... a terrorist," said Severus. "And your mother's magic meant that you survived a spell which normally kills. It means you'll be famous for doing nothing but being lucky to survive, and if we can get rid of the scar, you won't have a bunch of boggling grockels forever gawping and pointing at you."

Harry put his hand over the scar.

"We'll get back to you on the cursebreaker," said Griphook.

It had all been strange and tiring, but little Harry had no intention of falling asleep over his apricot fool ice cream which giggled when it was swallowed. Magic was lovely!

oOoOo

Sirius Black's trial went unnoticed by Dumbledore, as he was too preoccupied with searching for Harry, and did not bother to turn up for anything like routine trials. Amelia Bones was too canny to draw attention to the matter, and as a consequence, the first that Dumbledore heard of it was in the Daily Prophet over breakfast the next day with the screaming headline, 'Sirius Black is Innocent!' and a précis of the trial.

It quite spoiled Dumbledore's appetite.

Sirius Black was not renowned for his phlegmatism or good temper, and Dumbldore had a sour taste in his mouth over the thought that Black was going to go searching for Harry and would blame him for doing his best for the boy as seemed appropriate at the time.

 **Chapter 4**

Dumbledore spent the next few days immured in his office, wondering why there had been no mayhem from Black.

This was because Sirius Black was staying in Pronglet's Nest with Severus and little Harry, and was still sufficiently subdued by both Azkaban and the message from little Harry's future self to be behaving with moderate politeness.

He had apologised for the werewolf incident.

"It's left me with a terror of werewolves, you know," said Severus. "I know Lily would like Harry to know Lupin, but the thought of being in the same room with him makes me come over all clammy and nauseous. I dislike having to admit that weakness to you, you know. I know Lupin means me no harm. Phobias aren't logical, but they are no less real."

Sirius scratched his nose, reflecting that at least he was now doing so with fingers and not trying to do it with his back leg. Staying in the form of the dire for so long had had an effect on his behaviour, which he acknowledged and was pleased to be overcoming.

"I kinda get what you're saying, Sn ... Sev, mate," said Sirius, who was trying hard. "I feel that way about dementors."

Severus smiled thinly.

"Which is at least a logical fear, but yes, the thought of Lupin does rather give me the same feeling as a dementor up close."

"Well if we can't take the fear out of the werewolf, maybe we can take the werewolf out of the fear," said Sirius.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a better potioneer than my marks ever showed, because Sluggy brought out the worst in me to make me muck about; and Remus is actually moderately competent. I'm thinking if you could invent a cure for lycanthropy with us as your assistants, not only would your fame be assured so nobody could try to accuse you of being one of the bad guys, but Remus would be free of a curse that's none of his choosing."

Severus decided to ignore the dig that his cursed arm was of his choosing. Being civil to Black made him feel as though his hair was going to bleed with the effort, but he had to do it for Harry.

"I ... I could certainly improve on Wolfsbane," he said. "I'm going to have to have him visit to be able to try things out."

"And I can be with him in my animagus form to keep you and Harry safe, as well as knowing how to set up and ward a room for him," said Sirius. "We're being civil and sensible and the sky hasn't fallen, shall we break out a drink and toast how wonderful we are?"

"Not until Harry is in bed," said Severus. "I don't like you."

"I don't like you, but you've become pack," said Sirius.

"I don't take kindly to being pranked, before you decide to initiate me into your ... pack ... the hard way," said Severus.

"Aww, it's so hard," whined Sirius.

"Then don't lick it, mutt," said Severus.

Sirius stared, then he gave a bark of laughter.

"That was actually funny," he said.

"I can manage wit at times, you know," said Severus. "That was slightly low wit, I know, but I couldn't resist."

"I can't resist pranks," wheedled Sirius.

"Then can we compromise that you keep things very low level and don't do anything to make Harry try something that could be risky if attempted by a seven year old," said Severus.

"Done," said Sirius. "He's very quiet, is he ill?"

"Abuse makes kids quiet, and also makes them easy targets for bullies, and by the way, some of your broader pranks will look like bullying to him, so be careful."

Sirius stared.

"Were you abused?"

Severus met his eyes.

"A few years ago I'd have denied it; but you need to know what Harry has been through and he's had worse than I had. The beatings haven't been as vicious, but he's been systematically starved and worked like a house elf."

"I saw a copy of the muggle report, but I guess that plain language says more than a dry sort of document with medico-legal language," said Sirius, soberly. "And ... and I'm glad you were there for him, and know about what it's like for him. Help me be a good godfather? Please?"

"Make him laugh, but don't scare him, is really what it boils down to. I have to work to keep my temper in check because loud voices scare him, even if not aimed at him. And when he's asleep, you and I will work on ... ah, I have to explain about horcruces."

"Madam Bones told me," Sirius lied smoothly. Amelia had mentioned something about the quest Severus would be on, but had been less specific than Harry-from-the-future.

"I have a huge box of research and maps which James left," said Severus.

"I wish he had told me," Sirius was hurt.

"I expect he thought that at that age you'd go haring off and getting into trouble on your own by seeking things out without proper precautions," said Severus. "You're older now, and I presume wise enough not to cause Harry grief by getting yourself killed over impatience."

"Can we say I'm working on it?"

"Work on it really hard, you don't want to deprive the child of the only dogfather he has."

oOoOo

Little Harry was blissful. In fact, every day when he woke up, he had to pinch himself to check he was really awake and not dreaming. Uncle Sev had fed him three times a day, and the only chores he had were to make his own bed, and take his own plates through into the kitchen after eating. Uncle Sev wouldn't let him sweep the floors, and used a cool spell to make all the rubbish go away. If Uncle Sev was a freak too, Harry thought that being a freak was pretty cool. And Uncle Sirius was a freak too, and he could turn into a really cool dog! He remembered Unca Padfoot now he had met him again, and there was an Uncle Moony. And having uncles who were nice and who didn't shout was far, far better than having a proper bed, and toys, and toys in the garden, which he was almost afraid to play with in case they got broken and Uncle Sev didn't want him any more. But Uncle Padfoot climbed into the treehouse and slid down the slide and it didn't break, and he was a grown man.

Uncle Moony came visiting, and there was a bit of tension Harry could sense, but nobody shouted.

And Uncle Moony was nice too, and called him 'cub'.

oOoOo

"The Potter estate is going to pay you wages as Harry's tutor and secretary so don't argue," said Severus. "I went over it with Griphook and he says it's a legitimate expenditure, and necessary to help Harry regain his sense of self-worth. Do you think he'll be happy to see you mooning about like a refugee from what the charity shops throw out? Because I can tell you, he won't. I've been spending the last few weeks breaking him of saying 'freaks don't deserve new clothes' and 'freaks don't deserve good food and to eat at the table.' I have got him to acknowledge by mouth that he is a little boy, a wizard, and as deserving of nice things as anyone, even if I'm not sure if he believes it yet, and if you persist in looking like a bagman, you'll undermine all I've been trying to do to make him believe in himself. You are no more a freak than he is, though I'm not too sure about Black, who achieved freakiness. You had your illness thrust upon you, oh, no, I didn't mean to heave Shakespeare into it."

"Does that mean of the three of us you were born freaky?" asked Sirius.

"I'm passing that up to declare myself to be Feste, who is the cleverest person in the play, you to be Sir Toby Belch, and that hang-wolf fellow to be Sir Andrew Aguecheek," said Severus.

"Hang-wolf?"

"Well he isn't hang-dog, is he?"

"Fair point."

"I didn't realise how hard it had been to get Harry to realise he is entitled," said Remus, softly. "If you consider it a legitimate expense and will forward me some pay, I will outfit myself accordingly."

"Good. And we might as well get him as well educated as possible before he starts Hogwarts. He has the power the Dark Lord knows not; three very scary and determined godfathers."

"'Have you never seen the picture of we three?'" quoted Sirius.

"'Go rub your chain with crumbs,'" retorted Severus.

oOoOo 

The Order of the Phoenix had very little luck finding which orphanage Harry might be in, largely because he was not in an orphanage, and between being certain that Harry 'must be' in an orphanage and worrying about avoiding Sirius Black, the adoption of Harry by one Severus Snape entirely passed Dumbledore by, since he had no idea how to check up muggle paperwork, and did not think to look up wizarding paperwork.

Indeed when he tried to access Harry's account at Gringotts and was informed that he was not authorised to do so, his first thought was that Harry was dead. That really scared him; if Sirius was also tracking the boy down, and found out he had died, he was not going to be forgiving. Logic had never been Dumbledore's long suit at the best of times, and panic did nothing for his ability to think clearly. Harry-from-the-future was almost wetting himself with laughter to watch the old man bumbling around. That invisibility cloak was very useful.

Meanwhile, Barty Crouch senior was having a difficult time explaining why he had sent an innocent member of a prominent family to Azkaban without trial, a matter which was made harder by the discovery of the bound body of his supposedly dead son suspended by the ankles from a lamp-post in Diagon alley. Questions were asked over whether the Dark Lord had promised help saving the younger Crouch so long as a prominent auror was jailed in his place. Such speculation was so much tripe of course, but Winky fanned the flames happily by chatting to other house elves who passed on gossip to their masters and mistresses. Kreacher joined Winky in causing mayhem as soon as Sirius and Severus paid him a visit and dealt with the horcrux; he consented to help in the care of the heir to the Black fortune, Harry Potter.

And Older Harry visited the Malfoys.

oOoOo

"I'm from the future," said Harry. "You can see the remains of the scar on my head which is so famous, which was Voldy's penultimate horcrux. The accidental one. Your family can be torn apart and Draco made into a killer or you can look into what Voldy really stands for. Being a half-blood, as I can prove, it's not pure blood supremacy. He stands for making fools of you pure bred types as well as having revenge on all of wizarding society for having a muggle father who was seduced with a love potion by his squib of a mother."

It took a lot of talking.

And Lucius found a book in his library which hinted at a ritual which would remove a cursed protean charm. When Harry read it through and effortlessly removed his dark mark, Lucius was convinced that if this was a Harry Potter who was broken, then a strong Harry Potter was someone to ally with.

It was a start.

And Lucius contacted Severus to tell him he knew a man who could remove the dark mark. Severus brought Harry, with Padfoot along as a scowling bodyguard, to see if the horcrux in his head could also be removed. Older Harry remained cloaked to perform the ritual to avoid being recognised, and discovered that it did work on the head horcrux. He told them that another dark connection to this soul fragment was hidden in the house.

And that was three horcruxes down.

And Narcissa was very, very polite to the head of the Black family.

Sirius could demand the release of Bellatrix's vault to the head of her family, and that was another horcrux.

"Which goes to show," said Older Harry to Sirius, "How much Dumbledore could have accomplished if he had shared a bit more, and if he had set experts onto the matter instead of expecting to do it all himself, with the help of a lad of fifteen."

"I can't believe he'd risk Harry – you – so much," said Sirius.

"You'd better believe it, for when he starts to try to mess with little Harry's head when he gets to school," said Harry, seriously. "He's a man with a mission and I'm afraid the only individuals he believes in helping are the ungodly, because he hopes to redeem them. Don't get me wrong; redemption doubles the effect of killing an enemy because it increases the allies as well as removing the enemy, but you have to be certain of the redemption before giving sixth, seventh and eighth chances to proven death eaters."

"A second chance was more than he gave to me," growled Sirius. "He falls over himself backwards for death eater spawn at school but he washed his hands of me very quickly."

"Well, you got in the way of the greater good of making the boy-who-lived into a cowed creature dependent on him for everything from lemon drops to advice," said Harry.

"How someone can be so well-meaning, and cause so much darkness, escapes me," said Sirius.

"The word you want is 'hubris'," said Harry. "Prepare little Harry, and with luck his school life will be moderately boring."

"Apart from pranks," grinned Sirius.

"Padfoot, I love you, but don't let him become a bully like the Marauders were," said Harry. "I hate bullies. I saw some memories in my own time, and they weren't pretty. I looked at my father and saw my cousin, Dudley."

"Shit, really?" Sirius was shocked.

"Sirius, I was the kid with mismatched clothes, grey with age because they wouldn't wash white any more, the kid who was different, the kid who was trained into being bullied but with enough anger in me to flare back and use spells that weren't always appropriate because I found them in a book," said Harry.

Sirius regarded him thoughtfully.

"I get what you're saying," he said. "Sev's okay, actually. We're rubbing along tolerably well. And we're working on a cure for Remus."

Harry's face broke into a rare grin.

"That's brilliant!" he said. "Just hang tight together when getting the Peverell ring. It's nasty. Never put it on or let anyone else put it on. And if you can find a way to destroy it utterly, and Dumbledore's wand and the invisibility cloak, it might not be a bad idea to get rid of the deathly hallows too."

"But the cloak is so much fun!"

"Well, it's probably the least harmful of them all," said Harry. "Bear in mind that Tom Riddle believes in the hallows and that owning them will make him master of death. In my time he wanted Draco at 16 to kill Dumbeldore in a sneak attack so the wand would pass to Draco, who would be easy meat for Riddle."

"Poor little sod," said Sirius.

"Poor little sod indeed, and I will look to you, and Severus who is his godfather, to make sure the poor little sod is not as mixed up in this time as he was in mine. Get Lucius interested in investing in muggle stuff or something; he'll soon get over his prejudices if he can make money."

Sirius laughed.

"Now that's a prank worthy of any marauder!"

 **Chapter 5**

The cup was retrieved from Bellatrix's account, and Severus had to return to Hogwarts to teach anyway.

"I could give up, really, now we have Harry here," he said.

"Nah, just set up a gate to home with a password nobody will think off," said Sirius.

"Not 'Lemon Drops' then," said Severus. "I'll look for the Room of Requirements while I'm there, and see if there's one of Tom's little items there."

"And we need to go to his home when you get a weekend off," said Sirius.

"House Heads don't get weekends off," said Severus. "However, we can go in the small hours one Saturday night, the little pests like their lay-ins on Sundays."

"It's a date," said Sirius. "Keep an eye on my little cousin, Nymphadora."

Severus sighed.

"Nymphadora Tonks is death in the dungeon," he said. "She has no co-ordination at all, and is as likely to trip over her own feet and land in someone else's cauldron as she is to do anything else. If she wasn't so slapdash, she might be a half decent potioneer."

"Tell her to take ballet dancing lessons," said Sirius. "You can pass it on as my suggestion if you want."

Severus shrugged.

"I suppose it can't hurt," he said.

Three ingenious minds, two of them with the nefarious workings of ex marauders, soon set up a gate between Severus' quarters in Hogwarts and the Prongslet's Nest.

"I think we should ask Harry for a password," said Sirius.

Harry looked anxious.

"What sort of password?" he asked.

"Something off whaddya call it, Television," said Sirius. "Something wizards won't know, a word or phrase."

"I didn't get to see much Television," said Harry. He thought hard. "But Dudley often had it loud enough to hear, and there was a crack in the door to my cupboard and I could see some of it. But not very well. I couldn't see things further away than the other side of the hall before Uncle Sev had my eyes fixed."

"Why did James never have his eyes fixed?" asked Remus.

"He did," said Sirius. "But he loved pulling the 'you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?' trick on outraged Hufflepuffs."

"Dudley would still have hit him, and enjoyed it more," said Harry, quietly.

"Yeah, well, Dudley is a creep," said Sirius. "Got any ideas?"

Harry thought.

"Cartoons?" he said. "Wizards don't have cartoons."

"Good one," said Sirius.

"So how about 'I knew I should have turned left at Albuquerque'?"said Harry.

"Great. And one day you're going to have to explain the significance."

"If you can make a TV and videorecorder work with magic, I can show you," said Harry.

oOoOo

"Severus! I've been trying to get hold of you all Christmas holidays," said Dumbledore. "You weren't at Spinner's End when I floo'd you."

"I went on holiday," said Severus. "I don't believe I have to answer to you on the few occasions I have Christmas holidays off."

"Oh Severus, anyone would think that I was keeping tabs on you for the sake of it," said Dumbledore.

"Well, if you wanted me for anything in particular, you should have apprised me of that before I left," said Severus.

"I didn't know then," said Dumbledore. "Severus, something terrible has happened; I went to check on Harry Potter and the house is deserted."

"I expect they went on holiday too," said Severus. "Anyone who can afford to leaves England in midwinter, preferably for a place where there is no Yuletide bonhomie and all that depressing jollity."

"Oh, Severus, you should allow yourself to enjoy yourself sometimes."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Dumbledore managed a twinkle, which died. "But there is bad news. It seems that Harry was never in the house. There's no pictures of him, not a trace of him in any of the bedrooms. I looked, myself, most particularly. Minerva thinks he was handed over to an orphanage."

"Well, they'll see to his needs," said Severus. "What's the problem? He'd be better off in an orphanage than with an acidulated female like Petunia Dursley."

"Oh, Severus, you miss the point! Petunia's blood protects him, if he's in an orphanage and I don't know where he is, he's unprotected."

"Albus, there's a logical inconsistency in your argument," said Severus. "If you don't know where he is, what supposes you to believe that the other side knows either?"

"Well, Minerva said as much, but they have spies in the ministry. And there is resistance to orphans being contacted in orphanages, because of Tom Riddle."

"Who was a penniless half-breed of no account, despite his illustrious forebears," said Severus. "The Potter child has an account in Gringotts and can pay for his own schooling, he's not one of your waifs and strays. There is no way on earth that any of the governors could argue against his coming to school, so long as he appears in the book of names, he will arrive, and when the letters are due to be sent out, then his address will also be there, won't it?"

"No, the letters go out automatically. But once he is enrolled, his address will appear automatically in the ministry and then he will be vulnerable."

"Then I suggest you cease worrying until his name and address appear at the ministry," said Severus. "If you would excuse me, I have some things to do before the beginning of term."

"I think you are taking this very cavalierly, Severus. Remember that Sirius Black is likely to be thinking it a good idea to question you about his disappearance when he fails to find his godson."

"Has he been to tell you so?"

"Well, not in as many words, but ..."

"In as many words, or not at all?"

"I haven't spoken to him, Severus, what are you saying?" Dumbledore was sulky, caught in an implied lie.

"Albus, go and check the name in the book and see if 'Harry Potter' has changed to 'Harry Black'. I wouldn't put it past the mutt to have used his nose to find his godson, and took off with him."

Albus stiffened.

It might explain why Sirius had not been near him. He turned on his heel.

His robes did not billow as impressively as Severus had charmed his own to do, and Severus smirked to himself before heading for the seventh floor to find the Room of Requirements.

Albus Dumbledore stared at the name 'Harry James Potter-Black'. It had been a compromise Severus and Sirius had come to; Severus was Harry's official guardian, but as Sirius' heir he bore the name 'Black' as well.

oOoOo

Harry James Potter-Black was playing with Susan Bones, and Sirius was flirting with Amelia Bones when Severus returned with the diadem horcrux well wrapped in leather.

"Another one?" Amelia looked pleased.

"The antepenultimate," said Severus, in grim satisfaction.

"He said there's two more to go," said Sirius.

"I'm familiar with the term," said Amelia. "Very well done, both of you. Severus, have you considered becoming an Auror if you can get rid of the mark?"

"Oh, the mark's gone," said Severus, rolling up his sleeve. "Lucius too; he told me he'd had an epiphany about how he was being played for a sucker. He may always be a stuck up and arrogant supremacist, but he will work with you happily enough against someone who tried to sucker him. I'd never considered being an Auror, I have to say; the pinnacle of my ambition is to run an apothecary business whilst researching. I wanted to see Harry through school though. I don't put it past Dumbledore to set up traps for Tom Riddle with Harry as bait."

"That's a serious accusation; can you substantiate it?"

"It's not an accusation from the potions master to the head of the DMLE, it's an observation of one parent figure concerned for his offspring to another, said without prejudice," said Severus.

"Ah, I see. An unofficial warning to watch him."

"Yes, and as I'm Draco Malfoy's godfather, and Lucius is a governor, that's another pair of official eyes on him," said Severus, grimly. "He may be better intentioned than Lucius, but I know which one I prefer to trust."

"Funnily enough, me too," said Sirius. "I was left to rot in Azkaban, and I'm certain James told him that it was Pettigrew who was secret keeper. Just so he had control of Harry."

"I left him with the impression that you'd found Harry and taken off with him," grinned Severus.

"We'll make a Marauder of you yet, Sev, mate," said Sirius. "You need an animagus form so we know what to nickname you."

Severus rolled his eyes.

"When the last horcrux is destroyed, I'll think about it," he said. "Amelia, we're horcrux hunting tomorrow night; do you want to come?"

"What about Susan?"

"She can have a sleepover with Harry, and Winky and Kreacher can keep an eye on them," said Severus. "I have a note from James that this was Tom's family ring, though properly it could descend to the Potters, and James believed Tom laid heavy curses on it. And a compulsion to touch it. I suggest we all go wearing dragonhide gloves with extra charms on."

"If we take the diadem, we can destroy them both with fiendfyre; we're running low on basilisk venom," said Sirius. They had needed to buy basilisk venom.

Sirius also had a plan.

Susan and Harry were happy to have a sleepover, and Sirius, Remus, Severus and Amelia apparated to Little Hangleton using coordinates provided in 'James Potter's' untidy scrawl.

"When shall we three meet again?" cackled Sirius.

"There's four of us, and Shakespeare made dreadful fun of Salazar with that ghastly witches' chant," grumbled Severus.

"Oh yes, 'fillet of a fenny snake,'" said Remus. "Where are we going?" He still looked a little ill from the previous weekend's transformation, but the new potion Severus had tried had got him through the experience with less pain.

They found the Gaunt shack, and the loose floorboard, and the box with the ring in it.

"We don't even need to open this box, do we?" said Amelia. Severus was fighting himself not to open it.

"Nah, we'll take it for a count of one hundred each as we walk down to the graveyard," said Sirius. "You lead, Sev, must be at fifty for having got it out as well."

They counted out loud, and forcibly retrieved the box each in turn from the bearer, who was reluctant each time to pass it over.

"Most unpleasant," said Amelia, as Sirius put the box down on a grave. "Mr. Black, have you a reason for picking a grave with the same name as Voldemort's real name?"

"Yes, Amelia, I did," said Sirius. "It occurred to me, being as paranoid as I am, and having an acquaintance with dark books in the Black family library, that bone of his parent would be a powerful ritual item to use in a rebirth ceremony."

"Hell, you're right," said Severus. "Any relative would do."

"I'm glad we're singing off the same songsheet here," said Sirius. "I was wondering if you'd object to a little forcible resurrection of bones of anyone near this plot to be included in the general destruction."

"Seems to be a reasonable precaution to me," said Amelia. "Actually if we summon all bones, it might be even better."

"And less likely to alert muggles than the violence inherent in a phrase like 'forcible resurrection'," said Severus.

"Aw, Sev, you take all the fun out of things," said Sirius.

They were long gone before the muggle police helicopter made it to Little Hangleton from Cambridge to see why there was a massive fire in a graveyard.

oOoOo

"Uncle Sev?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Harry?" Severus liked to say goodnight to Harry before returning to Hogwarts, even though he knew Sirius and Remus would take good care of him.

"I like Susan and Auntie Amelia," said Harry. "They could come and live with us and she could marry you and I could have a sister."

Severus spluttered slightly.

"I don't know Amelia well enough to think about that at the moment," he said.

"Well, will you think about it?" asked Harry. "She's got red hair, like my mum, so she feels a bit mumsy."

"Yes, she's a smart and powerful witch like your mother as well," said Severus. "We'll see. She and I might not like each other enough, and you need to like each other very much to live together as a married couple."

"Oh, that'll be what was wrong with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia then," said Harry, turning over and falling promptly asleep.

oOoOo

"Miss Tonks, how someone can have excellent hand-eye coordination like yourself, and yet fail to manage a simple act like walking into a classroom and sitting at a desk without producing mayhem on a level which approaches the apocalyptic I do not know," said Severus. "Your feet appear to be under separate confundment charms, and appear to want to wander off in random directions."

"Mother says it's to do with being a metamorphagus, that my body can't make up its mind what to do, sir," said Tonks.

"Be that as it may, you might wish to take the advice your cousin Sirius asked me to pass on to you, and take up the art of ballet, a muggle class would do. The idea being to train muscle memory in your legs and feet and to treat the exercise of walking as a balletic exercise."

Tonks giggled.

"Do you think I'd have more luck than the trolls in the tapestry on the seventh floor?"

"Miss Tonks, I can only say that you should have more luck than those hapless trolls. I beg you, try learning dance of one form or another."

"Mummy took me to ballroom dance classes and I was excluded for accidentally arranging the teacher in a clinch with three male parents and a curtain," said Tonks.

"That's as may be, but ballet exercises are at least performed solo until you are any good at them."

"Do you know ballet, sir?"

"No, I'm afraid not. But I will ask in the staffroom if anyone knows enough to get you started, and we have wasted enough lesson time on your unruly feet which are going the right way about earning detentions."

oOoOo

Older Harry, meanwhile, did some genealogy research, and a bit of tinkering, and manufactured a spurious connection between the Evans family and the Granger family. As the supposed Evans family solicitor, he contacted the Grangers, explained why Hermione was managing to affect the house and street lights, and proceeded to write to Severus.

" _My dear Professor Snape,_

 _I was not entirely forthcoming to you when we last communicated, since I had been sworn to secrecy by the Evans family, but I believe Mrs. Evans-Potter would wish me to break secrecy since I have discovered a family member of hers who is the same age as Harry, and who has the same family Talent that Mrs. Potter displayed. I have taken the liberty of apprising Dr. and Dr. Granger of the reason for the odd occurrences around their daughter, and of letting them know that they have a cousin in the alternative world. Naturally I do not know details, but I have taken the liberty of arranging a meeting on Saturday in a café in London, which seems to me to be the easiest common ground on which to meet._

 _Details and contact details for the Grangers enclosed, and I trust I have not been presumptuous._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Albert Hall."_

"Of course it's presumptuous you old bat," said Severus, as he read it and tossed the letter to Remus, who was waiting for his wolfbane potion.

"Presumptuous maybe, but the muggleborn child will at least not start at as much of a disadvantage as she would otherwise do," said Remus. "You'll have the chance to teach her the etiquette and ways of the wizarding world and maybe she'll have more bugs bunny cartoons for us to watch."

"I can't believe how you and Sirius have become so addicted to muggle cartoons," said Severus.

"It's educational," said Remus, with a straight face."

"Educational?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Certainly. A lot of transmogrification goes on in cartoons, and magic, there are lessons in assimilative correlation by cultural reference, as well as extrinsic alteration by cultural reference. Should help in transfiguration and charms."

Severus considered.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," he said. "Very well, cartoons have redeeming social value."

Remus considered putting that one over very fast was one of his most successful japes.

 **Chapter 6**

Hermione Granger was so desperate to have friends she almost fell over her own words when she introduced herself. Susan and Harry looked at her askance, but with tacit consent gave her a chance. She was grateful to learn all she could about the wizarding world, and was fortunately not old enough to start wanting to change it to her own desires. Severus recognised the incipient believer in books and in authority, and determined to nip that in the bud. It wouldn't do to have a friend of Harry who would hang on Dumbledore's every word and do her best to manipulate her friend 'for the greater good.' She and Draco would knock each other's corners off, and Lucius would be far more receptive to a muggleborn witch as a friend for his only son now that he had been shown the scary side of muggles on the one hand, with a demonstration of nuclear weapons on film, and what Sirius called the _raison d'_ _ê_ _tre_ of muggles on the other hand, which consisted of about 40 hours of Warner Bros films.

Amelia Bones was beginning to find Severus Snape a more companionable person than she had initially expected. He was proving to be a good father to Harry, a little stern perhaps, but then Sirius needed a stern parent figure in his life even if Harry didn't. And when Severus nervously asked her out for a meal without the children, Amelia found herself accepting.

"I wouldn't date you just because Susan wants the position of Uncle to be more regular," said Amelia, feeling rather like a teenager.

"Oh, I wouldn't date you just because Harry thinks you'd make a good mother," said Severus. "However, the connivance of our youngsters might have speeded up what would otherwise have been a non-starter in my case for not thinking that you'd accept an invitation. Susan asked me when I was going to start dating you because you were getting impatient."

"Cheeky brat! I never said anything of the kind! She asked me if I was going to date you, and I said 'a girl has to wait to be asked', or something of that kind."

"I think it would be ... pleasant," said Severus.

He wondered if she wanted children of her own; but that must be her choice. He would not be influenced by Lucius' smugness now that Narcissa was pregnant again, and postulating that the dark mark had maybe been preventing him from fathering children. Severus privately thought it was more about being more relaxed now that Lucius was free of worrying if his master would come back. Narcissa was delighted to be carrying a little girl, whom they planned to name Adhara, for a star in Canis Major, as a celebration for reforging bonds with her cousin, Sirius. The baby would be Lucy as her second name, after her father.

"Broody, Severus?" asked Amelia.

"A little," Severus confessed. "I have to say I would like children of my own, but as I don't have to go through nine months and an interminable number of agonising hours it's not something I'd expect any woman to agree to as a matter of course."

"How thoughtful! How do you know so much about it?"

He shrugged.

"Girls at school do get pregnant. Most of them ask for a morning after dose if they aren't already brewing a contraceptive illicitly in their bathroom, but sometimes they aren't aware what has happened. Slytherin males do take advantage when they can, and some girls don't know how to say no. It's one of the things I want to discourage Draco from doing. And last year we had a child who was pregnant by her own father, her mother having died, and he wanting his marital rights with someone, and I had to fight to stop that crazy old coot from sending her home 'where she would be with someone who loves her.' I told him, that sort of 'love' she can do without. I managed to persuade him to let her go to cousins, after the baby was born, and her cousins under the impression the baby was her sister. Which it was, in a manner of speaking."

"Things like that go one, alas," sighed Amelia, "but the problem is nobody talks about it, and a girl who has a baby out of wedlock is seen as a scarlet woman."

"Which is ridiculous, because there's such a thing as rape, not to mention seduction of silly little innocents, even if you set aside incest," said Severus. "We used notice-me-not spells on the poor brat, and she managed to give birth in the Easter holidays, and Poppy almost split her tongue in half performing the spells I found in the restricted section to return her body to an apparently virginal state, so she will have the chance of a good marriage. She ought to tell anyone she loves and respects, of course, but something I've been explaining to the Grangers is that we don't have as many love matches in the Wizarding world purely because we have such low numbers that we have to make do, very often, with pairings decided by compatibility potions."

"Is it true that there are dark versions of those which instead of checking for compatibility will force a kind of dependency between a couple?"

"Certainly they exist, and they've been illegal since 1536 when it was discovered that Anne Bollen gave one to Henry Tudor and took its counterpart, to make him fall in love with her and divorce Queen Katharine. Rather more than Amortentia! But in a wizarding couple, the dependency potion changes the magic core to make the dependency permanent. It started wearing off Tudor because he was a muggle, and when she was unable to give him a son, he started looking for excuses to get rid of her. It's to be noted that he was sufficiently affected still that he demanded that the headsman's axe be very sharp so her death would be quick."

"A small mercy," said Amelia, dryly. "I cannot think that the rush to marry off our young people is helpful in finding a good match, schoolday romances rarely last."

"No, there's a lot of maturing to be done between completing school and the first few years out in the real world," said Severus. "I often wondered back then if Lily would regret marrying James."

"James was a poncy prick as a teen," said Amelia. "And how nice it is not to have to watch my language. He did improve after he left school, a lot of people thought it was Lily's influence. I did wonder if she had married him because he was pure blood and it would secure her place in the wizarding world, as a muggleborn witch."

"Lily would not have done that," said Severus. "There must have been something admirable in James that I never saw or she would not have admired him. But his work on the research about horcruces is as scholarly as anything Lily might have done, and as dedicated, so maybe they were drawing together. Amelia! You're not telling me you suspect Lily of setting up a compatibility draught for herself and James?" Severus, of course, had no idea that the research was older Harry's.

"No, it never crossed my mind," said Amelia. "If he was capable of so much research, obviously they had more in common than was apparent to the rest of us. And of course we know it's unlikely for there to be marriages between Harry, Susan, Hermione and Draco."

"We do?"

"Yes; friendships formed in early years, though especially those formed before the age of five, tend to lead to friendships of the sibling variety, not romantic. And it's another reason why we have marital problems, because what do all the pure bloods do?"

"Associate from an early age. Of course. So essentially, Lily and I were never going to be an item because we were too like siblings. I ... I still love her, but you are right. I may have had some rather lustful thoughts in my teens, but now ... yes, I have moved on."

"Just as well if you plan to kiss me good night before I go home."

He flushed.

"I wasn't sure if that would be rather a liberty."

"Oh, well, we can try it and see," said Amelia. "Yes, waiting for an age of discretion does seem to have its own reward, in terms of informed choices and deeper feelings, and it's not as if we don't live longer than muggles. And most muggles don't marry until around the age of thirty, you know."

"I didn't. But our lifespans also mean we can marry outside of our own generation, since at the ages of one at one hundred, and the other at eighty, the age gap is meaningless."

"I'll be jealous of Susan at this rate."

"I'm not a ruddy child molester. I have enough to do not to be molested by some of the Slytherin sixth formers, thank you very much."

She laughed.

"I was teasing you. That was a lovely meal! Will you see me home?"

If the farewell kiss was more cautious than knee trembling, it was something both wanted to try again on another occasion.

oOoOo

It took a year or so before Severus and Amelia married, and Harry was a page boy. This was a marriage which was spread all over the Daily Prophet of course, and Dumbledore, who had not been invited, stared speechless at the picture of Sirius Black as best man, and Harry Potter-Black as page. When Severus was back in school, the headmaster requested a visit to his study.

"Severus, lemon drop?"

"Thank you, no; I've got a couple of friends in the muggle world who are dentists and they have revolutionised my thinking on sweeties," said Severus, who had never liked lemon drops even before he had known the Grangers.

"Dear me! An esoteric occupation," said Dumbledore, vaguely. Dent was to do with teeth in Latin so presumably these were people who did things with teeth. Artwork on human ivory perhaps? It was of no moment. He fixed Severus with a stern gaze. "How long is it since you have known for certain that Harry was safe?" he asked.

"Long enough," shrugged Severus.

"I can't believe you asked Sirius to be your best man!" Dumbledore marvelled.

"Oh, well, he asked if I was serious about getting wed, and I said, no, you're Sirius," said Severus.

Dumbledore's determined smile faded a little. This was not the Severus he knew.

"I am very glad you and Sirius have put the past behind you," he said.

"Yes, we've had a lot of success in hunting down all Tom Riddle's horcruces; there are none left now, unless the crazy loon made more than six. We've postulated he didn't know about one, so he might try for one more if he can get a body back but that will make life easier for Harry if he doesn't have to kill him seven times," said Severus.

Dumbledore choked and the lemon drop in his mouth shot past Severus' ear.

"I ... I ... I ..." he stuttered. "But good grief, Severus, how did you find out about this?"

"James Potter left a load of research in his vault," said Severus. "And a letter for me to go and retrieve it. It led us to most of them very neatly."

"But one of them ... I fear it may be the Peverell ring, and that is ancient," said Dumbledore.

"It was ancient," said Severus. "Cracked clear in two with fiendfyre though," he added in satisfaction.

Dumbledore was ashen.

"Have you any idea what it was?" he asked.

"You mean that it was one of the deadly hallows, the resurrection stone? Oh yes, and better that they be destroyed as well as the horcruces," said Severus, enjoying himself. "A worthless little inadequate like Riddle would be the sort to want to search for them all, especially the elder wand, because he's such a poseur that he would think he can gain an advantage from them. Any wizard worth his salt can manage wandless magic and looks on a wand merely as a focus, a tool. All the foolish wand waving people do is risible. Reliance on a tool is a weakness."

Dumbledore slumped in his chair.

"I ... see," he said. Was he really risible, a poseur, for owning the Elder Wand? Had he lost sight of his own power in relying on it? "But, Severus, I need to tell you, though there's no need to break it to Sirius yet, Harry's scar might also be a horcrux. It was why I left it, so that we could use it as a link to Riddle, and then Harry could fulfil the prophecy by having it killed with the killing curse when he meets Voldemort. And I think there is a chance that his own soul might survive, but if he dies, then it will be for the greater ..." he yelped as Severus' ire manifested in the first bout of accidental magic he had displayed since he was in single figures and was hurled across the room as his windows shattered.

"You evil old coot, are you channelling your inner Grindelwald?" growled Severus. "And you can take that any way you like, James left in his notes a lot about you and Gellert the Golden. Don't even think of using Harry as a sacrifice, he's going to be many times the wizard you are, and what's more he's not a horcrux any more. We got it out."

Dumbledore sprawled on the floor, gasping.

"But my dear boy, we won't know where Voldemort is, now," he said. "Unless you can feel him through your dark mark ..."

"Oh, that's been removed too," said Severus. "We found a curse-breaker who was a parselmouth. Apparently they use them a lot in Egypt, where they revered the snake, as they do in India. So I am not a death eater, and any attempt to blackmail me or my wife with so-called knowledge of my affiliation is not going to work. Please do not try, and do not try to use Harry, or I will use everything else James had notes on to bring you down."

Dumbledore did not realise it was possible to blench any paler.

"I see," he said, tightly. Trust James Potter to know any of his guilty secrets. And being a man who had guilty secrets, he automatically assumed that Severus was in possession of more of them than in fact he was. "I ... I will respect your wishes, and hope that you will respect my secrets."

Severus was not a Slytherin for nothing. In that simple sentence he had no need of legilimensy to realise that Dumbledore probably had far more secrets than those in the bundle of information James, or rather, older Harry, had left. And he also realised that he would get a lot more concessions out of the old man if he pretended he knew all.

The muggleborn alumnus of Slytherin House, Rudyard Kipling, had once written, in 'Puck of Pook's Hill' that if you tell a man to flee because all was known, most will flee because most people have something to hide.

And Dumbledore was no exception.

"Well, I'll be getting along, Albus," said Severus.

 **Chapter 7**

The next few years passed, and Susan and Harry, together with Hermione, were being seen off to school by Sirius, Remus and Amelia, Hermione having spent the night with them. Three-year-old Ralph and year old Emma did not really understand saying goodbye, but then, Severus had every intention of facilitating visits home during the term. Amelia and the children would join him in his quarters at Hogwarts every night now, instead of just from time to time, and the elves knew to find her there if she was needed in her position of head of the DMLE. Severus had gone ahead, of course, to be there with the rest of the staff.

Draco joined the three other first years he knew well, bringing Greg Goyle and Vince Crabbe with him. It had not been hard for Lucius to persuade their fathers to have their own dark marks removed; the two were born followers and did as Lucius suggested. Greg and Vince were glad to have clever people to look out for them.

"I so am going to miss Adhara," said Draco. "And Orion, I suppose, though he's mostly stinky at the moment."

"We're going to miss Ralph and Emma," said Harry.

"Yes, but your dad is going to bring them to visit, I bet," said Draco.

This was a fair point, and Harry shuffled, feeling a little guilty that he had a dad on the staff who could do that.

"Well, he's only teaching until such time as Riddle makes a move against me, so he can get rid of him for good," he said.

The family of redheads turned up at that point, the youngest boy shuffling in embarrassment over his mother's attentions towards him. The girl a year his junior was looking yearningly around, peering at the forehead of any boy with dark hair.

Harry no longer had a scar, and he wore his hair long like his adoptive father and his godfather, tied back neatly at the nape of his neck. Long hair was a pureblood affectation of the head of a house, and Sirius had become resigned to being head of House Black, and leading it forward. Harry's hair was also Cadbury purple at the moment because he had discovered some latent metamorphagus talents through a thorough exposure to the wizarding world, and being different satisfied something deep inside him.

He had no idea how much that had pleased his older self, who had quietly slipped beyond the veil that summer, after having taken it upon himself to visit Albania and kill Nagini as soon as Quirrel had departed.

No point in making things too easy; Sirius knew about Quirrel, and was going to be in Hogsmeade in case of trouble. And Harry the older had died happy, knowing that his former self might meet a troll and a rather ineffective host to the dark lord, but had no need to meet a basilisk or engage in a Triwizard competition. And Sirius had given Severus a few ideas about how to improve any traps he might set as it seemed that Dumbledore was determined to hide the Philosopher's stone in Hogwarts. It did not even surprise Severus that Sirius had found this out. Marauders tended to know everything, and Sirius was not a fan of the Headmaster, and in fact had chewed him out for sending the child to muggles likely to prove abusive to a wizarding child. Dumbledore had been lying low for the past few years, and this little act of hubris to test Harry and tempt Voldemort out of hiding impressed none of Harry's devoted adults.

Kreacher, indeed, had volunteered to go to Hogwarts and cause trouble for anyone suspected of being a dark lord in disguise, gleefully relating the things he might do to such an enemy of Masters Regulus and Sirius.

"And actually, if we had just set the house elves on him in the first place, we might not have him returning," Sirius had said to Severus.

Severus, who worked with Winky and Kreacher, and had an acquaintance with Draco's elf, Dobby, shuddered and agreed, though he doubted that most elves were quite as psychotic as that trio.

oOoOo

Once on the train, the little group of six were invaded by identical redheads.

"Firsties?" said one. "Want to try some sweeties?"

"You'll be Gred and Forge; we've heard of you," said Harry. "And we'll pass on the poisonous sweeties, thanks. We plan to raise some hell of our own, because two of my godfathers were Marauders."

Fred and George exchanged a look, and came to sit down.

"Tell us more," said Fred [or George.]

"If you know the Marauders, you'll know their names," said George [or Fred.]

"Padfoot and Moony," said Harry. "My real dad was Prongs and we don't talk about the traitor, Wormtail."

"Well, now," the twins sat back, and then bowed low. "All hail to the illustrious descendents of the Marauders. I suppose you'll want the map back."

"You have the original map?" asked Harry. "We have a replacement, Padfoot made it for us."

"Wow," said Fred [or George]. "We must work together. Neat hair, by the way; I bet they don't let you keep it that way, how on earth did you manage to dye it that colour without getting in trouble?"

Harry laughed and permitted his hair to flow from root to tip into a shocking green, then red, then yellow then rich purplish blue.

"They have no control over my hair," he said.

"You were planning to go into Ravenclaw? Stuffy lot," said George [or Fred].

"Nah, I just like purple, and besides it's a purpler purple than the dark blue they favour," said Harry. He changed his hair back to its natural black. "I was planning on beating the hat to the announcement of my house."

"Pranking the hat? That's never been done before," said George. Harry had figured out which was which from Severus' descriptions.

"Good; I'd hate to do something which has already been done," said Harry.

"Well, we were thinking of looking for some decent people to park ickle Ronnikins on, but I think you'd be wasted on him," said Fred. "Did you have a House in mind?"

"We were considering Slytherin, because of my dad," said Harry. "Or alternatively, any house other than Slytherin, because of my dad. Having your father as head of house might just be a crimp in the pranking activities, but on the other hand it might be useful."

"Your dad is Snape?"

"My adoptive dad," said Harry, "And Susan's uncle by marriage."

"Snape's a tough bastard but he's fair enough," said Fred. "Snide as hell, and he don't much like Gryffindors, but then we do go out of our way to cause trouble for a lot of Slytherin. I mean, no offence, kid," he looked at Draco, "But you look a bit like a Malfoy, and Malfoys can be a royal pain."

"I am a Malfoy and as a Marauder I have every intention of being a royal pain," said Draco.

"Oh, as a _Marauder_ , that's different," said George.

oOoOo

Severus wondered why Quirinius Quirrell was wearing a fantastic turban and stinking of garlic. Surely the mild-mannered muggle studies professor had never been suborned to be a follower of Voldemort? Still, one might cite Peter Pettigrew if mild mannered was in question. Peter had been malicious of course, but then, Severus had never bothered to get to know Quirinius well enough. He was teaching defence against the dark arts this year, of all things; Severus hid a sneer. He would take his own wards and their friends in supplementary classes, though they probably knew more jinxes and counters than most fourth years at least. Susan was as much a target in her way as Harry, because of her aunt's position, and both children and their friends had gone through something close to auror training in the year before starting school. You could never be too paranoid.

And then the children were arriving. Harry would go second, after the child, Hannah Abbot, since he was going by the name 'Black'. Dumbledore was beaming like some archetypal grandfather as the hat sat on Harry's head, the smile slipping slightly as the boy's long hair flowed into silver and green stripes right before the hat declared,

"Slytherin!"

Dumbledore frowned slightly, but shrugged. One would have thought that Sirius would have talked him into being a Gryffindor. Dumbledore had no idea that Harry had informed Sirius that if something was wrong in the house of the snakes, it behoved a parselmouth and his friends to put that something right, which was, as Sirius complained to Severus, too Hufflepuff an attitude with too Ravenclaw a logic for a poor Gryffindor to argue with.

Susan quickly followed her 'brother' into Slytherin, to Dumbledore's total consternation. That Crabbe and Goyle were in Hufflepuff, as advised by Draco, would doubtless shock their parents, but did not concern the Headmaster as much as seeing the muggleborn girl go into Slytherin too, where she was greeted with warmth by Harry and Susan, and where later Draco Malfoy embraced her.

Dumbledore was starting to long for some warm slippers and a glass of Bob Ogden's finest.

Ronald Weasley looked outraged when he was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Severus was wondering whether Harry had talked very fast to the hat, in seeing the youngest boy of that pernicious brood sorted well away from sharing lessons, even as he probably asked for protection with the badgers for Draco's acquaintances. Harry could be like that at times.

The school was about to suffer an attack of Slytherin Marauders, and Severus relished the idea. Revenge was so sweet when tasted coldblooded.

oOoOo

"Harry, my boy! I'm so glad to see you," Dumbledore had asked Harry to come to his office and was perplexed to receive Susan Bones, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy of all people. "I wasn't expecting a committee, though. Lemon drops?"

"Lemon drops are almost pure sugar, sir, and you should not encourage defenceless minors in acts that are detrimental to their wellbeing," said Hermione. Severus had coached her in how to put it, and she was proud to manage it as perfectly as if he had delivered the speech himself.

"Indeed? Well, never mind," said Dumbledore, forcing a kindly smile. "Harry, I hope your godfather is looking after you well?"

Harry gave him a rather fishy stare.

"Both my godfathers spend a lot of time with me," he said. "Sirius and Remus are very close to my Dad."

"Yes, they were all friends at school," beamed Dumbledore.

"Well, actually they didn't get on with my Dad at school, but that's okay now, they got over themselves," said Harry.

Dumbledore stared.

"Your father was devoted to Sirius and Remus," he said.

Harry shook his head.

"No, my biological father was friends with them; I think you might be getting confused."

"I certainly feel confused, my dear boy, who do you mean by your Dad?"

"Severus Snape, of course," said Harry. "He adopted me, and then he married Mum, so I have a sister my own age and a sister and a brother. We're a real family."

"When ... when did Severus adopt you, my boy?"

"Oh, ages ago, when my birth mother's solicitor contacted him to tell him she'd left him a letter to do so," shrugged Harry. "She and James said he wasn't to trust you because you are a manipulative old coot who would use me as a weapon, and set me up to do silly tasks. You may rest assured we shan't be going anywhere near the third floor, though I am going to ask Hagrid if we can help to walk Fluffy. Though we might set a few more traps for old mouldy shorts. Dad says he thinks he's possessed old Quirrel, has he?"

Dumbledore blinked.

This had been why it had been so important to have a depressed Harry, wanting to find his way, someone so fixated on duty that seeking the stone to keep it safe was the only course to take. A smart, self-confident Harry with purple hair, and purple eyes cycling with green hair and green eyes was not someone he could deal with. He forced a laugh.

"Of course you mustn't go near the third floor, I put it off limits," he said. "I hope your, er, adoptive father hasn't said anything about what's there?"

"Oh, no, sir, Sirius worked it out," said Harry. "He already got most of it out of Hagrid and passed it on. We're working on setting up a scrying globe to follow Quirrell about so we can point and laugh with popcorn when he goes after the stone."

"That's a complex thing to manage," said Dumbledore.

"Piece of piss," said Draco. "I know how and Hermione has the sheer power."

"You ... uh, seem to be getting on very well with Miss Granger."

"Any reason I shouldn't, sir?" asked Draco. "My Dad has shares in a dental supplies firm. You wouldn't believe how evil muggles can be when it comes to dealing with teeth."

"It isn't evil, just a necessary cruelty to be kind," said Hermione.

"And you're telling me schoolkids don't mention drills and things to other kids who have dental appointments to be kind?" scoffed Draco.

"Well, at least I can threaten bullies with my parents," said Hermione.

"Hell, yeah, your parents make most death eaters look like pussy cats," said Draco, with feeling.

Dumbledore felt out of his depth.

"I'm so glad you are all settling in well," he murmured. "Miss Bones, you don't feel out of depth in House Slytherin?"

"Oh, no, professor," said Susan, smiling brightly. "My aunt says I should be confident wherever I am and Uncle Severus says so too, because redheads are hot, and nobody but the best can handle them."

"Er, I see," said Dumbledore. "Well, carry on, children!"

He went in search of firewhiskey.

 **Chapter 8**

The Weasley twins, who could not resist the lure of the third floor corridor, had to be rescued by Severus when they turned up in a cage in his quarters tweeting noisily.

"Great prank, sir," said George, when he restored them. "I was sure we got the right potion!"

"You did," said Severus. "That's why you were budgies not rooks. What, you expect me to tell the truth on a logic puzzle to prevent people getting through a trap? What do you take me for, some kind of amateur?"

The twins exchanged looks.

"So there's no way through the wall of fire?" asked Fred.

"Only if you brew your own fire resistance potion or know enough flame resistance spells," said Severus. "Honestly, do you think I'm going to make it easy?"

"The other teachers did," said George.

"The other teachers did as our illustrious headmaster told them, to make the whole puzzle solvable by a determined eleven year old and his friends because he's trying, in his warped fashion, to train Harry to fight Voldemort; and because he has some mistaken belief that Harry will meet and defeat Voldemort's tool in there."

"Voldemort is alive? He's after the stone?" asked Fred.

"Alive? In a manner of speaking. He is probably possessing Professor Quirrell, but the headmaster isn't interested," said Severus. "Now I'd be willing to cut a lot of slack towards anyone who could manage to get that damned turban off, and I never said that to you."

"No, sir, didn't hear a word," said George.

"Operation turban about to be planned," said Fred.

oOoOo

Fred and George thought that operation turban would be funniest if performed at Halloween, which meant that it had to be abandoned, since Quirrell only came into the hall to shriek that there was a troll loose in the dungeons.

There was a revolt amongst the Slytherin when the headmaster told all to return to their common rooms.

"I'm not going to the dungeon if there's a troll there," said Harry, loudly. His hair was flashing neon orange and red. "Anyone who directs children _towards_ a troll must be losing their marbles. But then we already knew that," he cast a baleful eye towards the headmaster.

"Sit down at your tables, everyone, and we of the staff will ward the doors of the Great Hall against trolls," said Severus. "Any hysteria will be dealt with severely, that means you, Miss Brown."

Lavender Brown was having full blown hysterics which stopped abruptly when Severus waved a negligent hand and a deluge of water descended on her.

"Anyone else want to have my cure for hysteria? No, thought not," said Severus.

"Masterly summoning," said Minerva. "Dear me, Albus, Mr. Pot ... Black is quite correct, the dungeons would be most unsafe for students. Severus, your aid with wards?"

"Certainly, Minerva, and I think you and I are quite equal to dealing with any troll. Without help from the Messers Weasley," he added as Fred and George tried to sneak out. "You had better help Mr. Quirrell as he has passed out," he added.

"It won't be as funny," mourned George.

"Then wait until it is," said Severus.

"What on earth are you on about, Severus?" demanded McGonagall.

"Me? Nothing," said Severus, innocently. She fixed him with a steely gaze.

"I'm no' sure that associating with Sirius Black is a' that good for you," she said, sternly.

"It's very good for _me_ , Minerva. It may not be good for other people, but then, I have to catch up on all the marauding I missed out on in my teenage years."

"Yon wee laddie and his godfather have a lot tae answer for," said Minerva.

"Come, Minerva, you'd not want to be bored, would you?"

"With trolls in the dungeons is that hardly likely? And I can hear sounds of trollishness _Up_ stairs."

The troll was quickly dealt with, and Severus and Minerva returned to the feast. Harry, looking upon the feast as a celebration of his birth parents' life rather than as a reminder of their deaths, had resumed orange and black stripes in his hair, and an appearance of makeup of a jack o' lanterns. The staff table settled down, in time for Quirrell to have 'regained consciousness', with a look of baffled fury at the children still being in the hall, so he could not slip out. And then his turban was unwinding, turning into a fantastic brocade snake, and started singing 'Captain Beaky and his Band'. Where the Weasley twins had unearthed this aging muggle song, Severus had no idea, but plainly the turban was now Hissing Sid. Severus absently cast some permanency charms on the beast; the idea of a purple and gold brocade magical snake tickled his sense of humour. Pity it wasn't green and silver, but you couldn't have everything.

Quirrell shrieked, and leaped up, and Trelawney, who was closest to him pointed to the back of his head, gobbled a few times, and passed out.

Severus picked up the Bible, candlestick and bell which he had sneaked up to the feast in expectation of needing it, and proceeded to declaim in Latin. Quirrell whipped round to be back to him, and Severus had the horrid sight of the snaky pallid face of the former Tom Riddle.

"Traitor!" its voice was high and reedy.

"Crumbs, are we scared of something that can only manage falsetto?" said Harry. He and his friends ran up to the staff table to hold valiant shields for Severus as he held his chant, joined quickly by the Weasley twins and Nymphadora Tonks. Voldemort screeched and fought back, hurling hexes at Severus and at the children.

"Your powers are weak old man," quipped Harry, in a Darth Vader voice. "Once I was the learner, now I am the Master."

"Only a master of Weasleys, Darth," said Draco.

"Oi!" said Fred. Draco winked at him.

"Someone's overdue for being taken to the muggle cinema," he said.

The children might be joking, but they held their protective charms seriously, getting up another as soon as one layer failed. And then the horrid face twisted in rage.

"Avada ..." it began.

With a yell of rage, Harry launched himself physically on the monstrous face, and the killing curse gurgled in a melting, burning throat where his hand connected.

"So the blood sacrifice still works. Who knew?" murmured Severus, who had wound up his chant. Harry's attack had bought him those last few seconds, and the dirty black spirit of Voldemort rose briefly from Quirrell's body, and then, with a thin wail, flew apart.

"That was gross," said Harry.

"Gross is what you get for being too impulsive," said Severus. "Thank you. Don't give me a heart attack like that again, young paduan."

"No, sir, sorry, sir," said Harry.

"Well, if Poppy would care to take Quirinius to the hospital, I fancy he may wake up wondering where he is, and how he got here," said Severus. "I don't see him as a voluntary follower of Tom Riddle, may he rest in pieces."

"Amen," said Dumbledore. "Bell, book and candle? I never tagged you as religious, Severus."

"I'll believe in anything which will work," said Severus. "My father was born a Catholic, though he left 'lapsed' so far behind as to make most lapsed Catholics seem religious. And I have been looking up ways of dealing with errant spirits the moment I suspected that Quirinius was possessed. Bell, book and candle can be used on ghosts, though the Bloody Baron tells me it is reputed to be very painful and unfriendly. I didn't much care how painful and unfriendly I was to Tom Riddle. Of course some of the Marked might die, or lose their magic, he was, I believe, drawing on their cores there at the end, but your surreptitious help to the children, Albus, was timely. I believe I need a cup of tea."

"I think Trelawney needs something a lot stronger," muttered Minerva.

"She's not the only one," said Dumbledore. "He ... why Severus, that means you got all the horcruces!"

"I told you I had," said Severus, with grim satisfaction. "Of course if the other Death Eaters haven't been drained of their magic, they may cause trouble, but in my opinion only Lucius, I, or Bella would have been capable of leading them. Lucius and I are well out of that little club, and Bella is in Azkaban where I hope she rots."

"Yes, indeed," said Dumbledore.

"It's got symmetry," said Harry. "It's a death-day gift to my first parents."

"So it is, my boy, so it is," Dumbledore managed the tell-tale twinkle.

oOoOo

The rest of the year was uneventful. Or rather, the rest of the year had none of the dangers older Harry had experienced. As Voldemort was no more, there was no point adding other traps to the puzzle hiding the Philosopher's Stone.

"And who in their right mind wants to live forever anyway?" said Hermione. There was a brief scuffle as Draco and Harry performed air guitar and sang the song with perhaps less aplomb than Brian May and Freddy Mercury, but at least Harry morphed into Mercury to sing. Hermione threw cushions and Harry and Draco transfigured them into birds, as they were stuffed with feathers. The birds were still somewhat embroidered on back and breast, but Susan, who was soft-hearted, let them out to go and roost in the Forbidden Forest. They then went to find the twins, to discuss reverse engineering the liquid portkey and transfigurational potion. The result of their researches was served to the whole school in pumpkin juice on the last day of November, with the result of porting everyone randomly to different tables, becoming crows, and moulting back to normal humans but somewhere entirely random.

The pandemonium was a balm to the young Marauders.

"Dear God, what has been let loose on the school?" groaned McGonagall, her head in her hands. She had a sudden premonition based on nothing taught by Trelawney and more based on prior experience of James Potter and friends that the coming six and a half years were going to be too interesting for comfort.

She was right.

The original marauders had verged on bullying, but with the influence of both Severus and Amelia in their lives, not to mention the tempering effect of Susan and Hermione, the young marauders managed increasingly sophisticated pranks which, in general, left the whole school laughing at best, or mildly exasperated at worst. By their fourth year they had perfected the Piertotem Locomotor spell, and dressed up sundry suits of armour to march on one at a time, dressed as various professors, and deliver a spoof lecture on the appropriate subjects. They hastily fitted this in before the Triwizard contenders arrived from the other two schools, as a diversion from the more serious project of getting Fred and George's names into the goblet of fire.

In the end, Harry came up with the idea of having Kreacher steal the goblet, because once it was out of the age line, their names could go in.

Fred Weasley, with the help of his friends, was Hogwarts champion, and was well versed in the theory of dragon-handling, thanks to his brother Charlie. Hermione reminded him to use warming charms in the lake and muggle knowledge meant he had time to practise transfiguring the rowing boat into a submarine with waldos and an air lock. The maze caused the prankster no trouble, and Fred knew that he and George were set for life when he took the cup and was ported back to the entrance of the maze.

As Voldemort was dead, Sirius Black taught defence against the dark arts, whilst Remus tutored the younger children still at home, and there was no vacancy for Dolores Umbridge to fill. However, her policies regarding werewolves disturbed the young marauders, and a holiday project involving acromantulas and cursed pictures of kittens tied only to someone who had drunk a certain potion were put in train. Dolores Umbridge, finding that nobody could see that her kitten ornaments had turned into grinning acromantulas, or that her fluffy pink cardigans were now black and the fluff made of spider legs, killed herself, and nobody missed her.

The goblin drivers of the Hogwarts Express merely shrugged in resignation when their locomotive started singing train related songs like Pennsylvania 6-5000, Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe, Canadian Pacific, and so on.

Hissing Sid had meanwhile become a mascot of the Slytherin common room, and took a liking to Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione Granger entered into a formal betrothal with Draco Malfoy in their sixth year, and Draco wrote to Dan Granger that he knew how scary dentists were, and to spare him the lecture as he planned to take good care of Miss Granger.

Harry and Susan went to work for the Weasley twins when they left school, and Susan married both twins as she couldn't choose between them. Harry had a brief flirtation with Theodore Nott, before deciding that he was straight after all. He did not get married until Adhara Malfoy was old enough to court, and Harry had run a successful campaign against the ageing Cornelius Fudge to become minister of magic, well versed in etiquette, and knowing which Queen song that phrase came from, as well as in law and politics, and sponsored by his prospective father-in-law.

Ron Weasley became second string keeper for the Chudleigh Cannons until he was fired for failure to attend practices, when he degenerated into alcoholism. Ginny Weasley had a brilliant career in Quidditch and lived with one of her fellow Holyhead Harpies, much to Molly's shock. Neville Longbottom also entered politics as a staid, but staunch supporter of Harry. Bellatrix Lestrange died in Azkaban, older than her years, not long before Harry campaigned to have dementors banished and banned for use in prisons. Sirius still had some nightmares. House elf rights were also on the agenda, but not in the form Hermione would have wished. House elves were now permitted to apply to be freed and helped to find work and had the rights to retaliate if treated badly. It took a significant ritual to remove the geas laid on them, but Kreacher helped Harry with the wording, and with the ritual. Kreacher fathered seven elflings on Winky, and died full of years and gravitas. Severus and Amelia went on to have two more children, and called it a day with Melissa and Rose. Narcissa was unable to have any more children after the two who followed Draco, but that was still two more than she had ever expected to have.


End file.
